Ask-A-Recruiter: Troubleshooting Your Job Search

istock_000005168521xsmall1.jpgContributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

A recent Inc. Magazine article by Joel Spolsky comparing running a business to getting good radio reception made me think about a similar point I often make with coaching clients about their job search: you need to constantly refine your search.

What knobs are you turning on your search? Spolsky makes the great analogy that price, location, employees, marketing, etc are the “knobs” of the start-up’s radio. For a jobseeker, you have your pitch, your resume, your cover letters, your online profile, even down to the detail you provide on an individual project. Are you looking at all the pieces of your job search package to see what is getting good reception on the market? Are you fiddling around with these knobs on an ongoing basis to get better reception?

What can you change? Spolsky gives an example of a pricing change from that greatly improved sales on a languishing product. Similarly, if you are not getting interviews, audit your search. If you are getting leads just from ads and these haven’t resulted in interviews then try something else like calling into firms directly. If you get to interviews and they are focused on a project that you haven’t put front and center in your profile, put it front and center – the market is telling you that this is your hook.

Will you keep trying? Spolsky is very clear that the only reason businesses fail is that the owner stops trying things. Similarly a jobseeker has to put herself out there time and time again to move her search forward. Maybe Lana Turner was discovered in an ice cream shop and catapulted to a dream career while minding her own business, but that probably won’t happen to you and me.

Be proactive. Turn up your job search radio. Fiddle with the control knob. Listen to your market reception. Repeat till you get what you want to hear.

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart, a career coaching firm comprised exclusively of former Fortune 500 recruiters. SixFigureStart is hosting a free career coaching teleclass on Friday, March 6, 1p EST. To get on the call or submit a question to be coached, email caroline@sixfigurestart.com.

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